The Definition of Insanity
I'm Back! Finally…College, relatives, computer viruses, dentist appointments, yeah… life in general and all that.
Anyways! On with chapter 3…personally this is one of my favorite chapters that I have ever written for any story, not necessarily the best but I just had a lot of fun with it and it was so easy to write (which never happens). So, please read and review so u can tell me what u think about it!
Disclaimer: Hey guess what guys…I own Soul Eater…NOT! No… I still don't *sigh* wish I did though.
"…"-Talking '…'-Thinking (…)-Anything else I can think of to say.
Chapter Starts…NOW!
Chapter 3: A Following Illusion
Lisa's POV
I've never thought of myself as someone who stood out or could make that big of an impression. True I had become second in command of the DWMA's sub-division in the Southern States at just barely turned thirteen. But personally I don't find that in and of itself all that great of a feat. Anyone my age could do it, if they put their mind to it and worked hard enough. I've just never seen myself as someone who should draw that much attention to myself. So it was a huge ass shock to me when I came back from Houston to have the fucking Kishin follow me into my apartment and reveal his face to me. I really thought I was gonna die that time. Which would have sucked like all hell, I mean I have no illusions of living forever but I've got to at least make it to twenty-one (I'll get to at least taste some alcohol then.)
But I digress…
Instead of coming to kill me as I had originally thought the Kishin did something completely different. I swear to Lord Death…if I get any more surprises like that one I will go into cardiac arrest.
Flash Back
Normal POV
Lisa stood stone still as the fabric covering the Kishin's face parted and shrunk away. A slight shiver run through her spine at the sound the fabric made, it was…creepy…like things crawling or something. (A/N: That actually comes from me; I can't stand the sound the skin makes when he reveals his face. It just wigs me out for some reason.) She still didn't move. She couldn't even if she had wanted to. This was one of the times where her fear had kicked in before she could react. Lisa didn't blink for a long time, her eyes had actually started to sting a bit but she couldn't tear her gaze away from the figure before her as his face was revealed.
The brass-knuckle user wasn't sure what she was expecting to see. Something grotesque or deformed maybe...something that would make your skin crawl and make the Kishin seem even more like the evil monster he was meant to be. What she saw was nothing like she had imagined. The Kishin looked rather…human. She couldn't think of any other word for it. The Kishin was meant to be a monster and to have him look so normal made him far less frightening. He looked to be in his early twenties, maybe a bit younger. A sharp jaw and thin cheek bones, jet black hair stopping at his jaw line that had many odd white markings mixed into it. He didn't look particularly evil at all.
Aside from his eyes…
His eyes were actually the last thing that Lisa took note of…
They were really fucking creep!
Bloody red irises with a white vertical eye pattern around the pupil. Weird…just, weird. Later on Lisa would consider the fact that her own eyes caused quite a few double takes on occasion and she would be forced to reevaluate her opinion on how creepy his eyes were. But in that moment they were really disturbing (and she couldn't even see the one on his forehead because his bangs were in the way). Not to mention that those creepy bloody red eyes were staring right at her. Lisa had never been a shy person but the way he was staring at her covered her with a strong wave of self-consciousness. A very pointed stare, like he was expecting something of her. What he could be expecting or want from her she had not a clue; which only served to make her already pounding heart slam even harder against her ribcage. He spoke suddenly… nearly causing the red-headed weapon to jump out of her skin.
"Hello…" The red eyed man said, so softly that if the room hadn't been so silent Lisa would have thought she was hearing things.
It was only one word but it still shocked Lisa beyond belief. She hadn't been expecting the Kishin to say anything at all. She had figured he had come to devour her soul. She wasn't sure he still wouldn't try to do that yet but at the moment her soul seemed to be safe. His voice was odd... it didn't sound like the voice of a deranged 'Demon god of Insanity'. It was soft and smooth, not demonic or threatening in any way.
"Evening…or, morning now I guess." Lisa answered back after an extended pause.
The brass knuckle user screamed at herself in her mind, swearing up and down in English and a bit in Latin (her second language). Why in the name of Lord Death and all the other Great Old Ones had she just said hello to the Kishin!? Sleep…she needed sleep, maybe then his illusion would go away. If only she had such luck on her side.
The Kishin cocked his head to the left slightly; he had to give this girl credit. If she was afraid she didn't show it at all. Hell, she had basic told him good morning for Death's sake. This girl was scary and she made the Kishin feel very nervous. Lisa watched the Kishin's expression carefully; his red eyes piercing and intent, his thin lips pressed together tightly. Cleanly he hadn't liked her response. Without even thinking about it Lisa copied the Kishin and cocked her head to the left as well, although her action was more notable. They mirrored each other, Lisa doing it both out of her own curiosity and also as a silent way of telling the Kishin to shove-it. Whether or not the Insanity god picked up on her unspoken mocking was unknown to her. She didn't really care either way though. Kishin or not no one was going to come into her house and expect her to perform like some sort of circus act.
"Tell me…Kishin…do you have some, pressing reason as to why you've broken into my house at the ass crack of dawn? 'Cause, if you don't…them I would advise that you get gone before anyone with a half-ass soul perception notices your presence." Lisa snapped, her fear of the situation not paralyzing her vocal cords in the least.
The Kishin recoiled and blinked rapidly for a moment, not expecting such sharp words from the female weapon. Oh yes, she was truly terrifying. But the red eyed demon knew he had the upper hand this time. Nothing this strangely powerful girl could say or do would stop him from learning how she could deflect the Madness.
"No one in this pathetic city can sense my wavelength…Human. Not even you're precious Shinigami knows that I am here." The Kishin told her, a layer of smugness coating his smooth voice.
"Is that so? Pity… I guess that I'll have to go and tell him myself that you're illusions can still affect people in Death Vegas." Lisa shot back, turning to leave and go straight to the Death Room and blow the whistle to Lord Death.
"Illusion? Is that what you think? Ha…you humans are truly ridiculous…I am no illusion."
Lisa stopped dead in her tracks and whipped around to face the mad man. The Kishin smirked darkly; Lisa narrowed her tired eyes at the statement. What the hell was he on about; of course he was an illusion. Wasn't he? There was no way the real Kishin would show himself. The red-head decided to call his bluff.
"Well, whatever you may be… I know you aren't the real Kishin. So I have no reason to believe a word that comes out of your mouth."
"And just how do you know that I am misleading you? How can you tell whether I am the genuine Kishin or not?"
"I can't sense if you're real or not, I just know that you're lying… stultus damnatorum (Damned Fool)." Lisa stated in a matter-o-fact manner, cursing the man in Latin out of pure spite.
"I would advise you to watch your tongue when you speak to me, ignorare humana (Ignorant Human)." He spoke coldly. Being over 800 years old, Asura also knew Latin rather well.
Lisa however didn't even look shocked or surprised when he insulted her back in Latin. She was too pissed and exhausted to really give two shits at this point. In fact she didn't really care if the Kishin knew what she said or not; she had meant to say it. And she would have done it even if she had known he would understand her. And her judgment must have been fairly impaired from lack of sleep; because she once again chose to run her mouth.
"Cogitas te compellit tacere? (Do you plan to force me to remain silent?) An vos quoque timuit? (Or are you too afraid?)."
The Kishin was so stunned by Lisa's accusation that he couldn't even come up with a response. Lisa beat him to it either way.
"I know that you are not the real Kishin… because the real Kishin wouldn't dare show his face in Death Vegas. He would be too frightened. So… whatever you are I am not sure of, but personally it doesn't matter to me."
A heavy blast of the Kishin's Madness filled the small space in seconds. He was pissed…should have kept her mouth shut this time. The Madness was so dense, oppressive… like drowning on dry land. It was awful. Lisa's stomach churned and a knot formed in her chest. Her knees grew weak and a weight settled on her shoulders. The pressure almost forced her to the floor…but she was not weak, she was not helpless, and she would not show fear. The red-head squared her shoulders and stood up straight to her full height. She glared at the Kishin from underneath the brim of her dark grey fedora. Pushing out her own wavelength.
'Pointless…do you really think that you can stand against the Madness?' Asura thought darkly, a sinister grin marring his otherwise handsome face.
"I don't think I can stand against it…I know I can." Lisa whispered before flaring her wavelength out with force.
The Kishin's bloody eyes widened in terror as her soul pulsated. A large dark orange circular force field surrounding her form. He could see her soul… and gods was it horrifying. Large brass-knuckles jetting out of either side of the orange orb and the loose outline of a hat at the top; representing the hat the red-head actually wore. Asura could feel the girl's wavelength clash against his own, shattering his front like a pane of glass, leaving him open to the effects of her wavelength. The soul wavelength is said to be the physical representation of a person. Each wavelength is special and unique, just as all people are different from each other. But as Lisa's wavelength crashed into the Kishin he felt nothing that would have reflected her individual personality. Oh no… he could only feel one thing from her wavelength, one emotion…rage.
She was absolutely terrifying.
"Don't…ever; try to trap me in the Madness again. Ever…Kishin." Lisa hissed like a deadly snake, there was nothing she hated more than someone forcing their wavelength over on her; Madness or not.
As quickly as her wavelength flared it had dimmed and faded away into nothingness, not a single trace of the rage that had been present seconds before was left. It was the Kishin's turn to quake in terror, and boy did he do a good job of it. Lisa noticed that the pale man was trying to hide his reaction but was failing miserably. His whole body was shaking like a leaf. Lisa scowled in annoyance, she was done with this.
"Satis! (Enough!)…whatever business you have with me you had better speak up now or I will cut you into pieces." Lisa growled under her breath. Her brass-knuckles forming around her hands in a second.
If he attacked her she would strike back without even flinching. Silence passed between the two as Asura regained his composure (what little he had to begin with). He stopped shaking and then grew stone still. In a second he was back to glaring at her like he wanted her to burst into flames. His emotions unstable and unpredictable as they had always been.
"You…are a very horrifying human. Most certainly." Asura told her, his smooth voice back to being cool and detached.
'Damn…I didn't know being the 'God of Insanity' also meant having bi-polar disorder. Then again… that may just be one of many contributing factors to being Insane to begin with. Geez…Order and Madness are just really fucking confusing. Never mind, back to the main problem… the Kishin in my bedroom.' Lisa rambled on for a moment before the Kishin finally spoke up again.
"I was right in my decision to follow you."
"What now? What the hell are you talking about, start explaining right now!"
"No need to shout, it's very simple really. Do you remember when you first came into sight of this city? The illusion you were trapped in, the one you broke out of with such ease? I created that illusion you see, so I knew everything that was going on at the time. I saw you, how you so effortlessly defeated an illusion of pure Madness. Not many can manage such a feat; even three star meisters could have trouble freeing themselves from such a concentrated level Insanity. But you, a weak little girl…could figure out the illusion and actually escape within mere moments. To find someone with that much power at their deposal...it makes me nervous."
"Not to interrupt your narration here but does any of this yakking have an actual point to it?" Lisa huffed, blowing a strand of red and black hair out of her eyes. She was getting very impatient; Asura continued as though she had said nothing at all.
"When I saw what a weak little human like you could do, even against a god like myself. I grew incredibly…nervous of you, and I fear what you could possibly do to me if we ever actually come across one another in battle.
"So…your aren't the real Kishin after all? Then what are you? And what does you being here have to do with me; I'm nothing special or anything. Why reveal yourself to me?"
"It is true that I am not in a physical form at the moment. Think of me as ghost if you well. The real me controls this 'body', a body that no human can see. My wavelength can't be traced and I can't be seen by anyone in this city. Even from my physical location far away from here I can interact through this body. I see what it sees, I smell what it smells, I hear what it hears…you are a fairly smart human, I'm sure that you grasp the main idea, yes?"
"So…It's like a doppelgänger?" Lisa questioned in slight awe, the idea of such a thing rather interesting in her mind.
(A/N: There are many different definitions of a doppelganger but the main idea is that it is either a physical or ghostly copy of a person. If you are curious to learn more just type it you're the search bar.)
"Yes, I suppose that would be one way to look at it."
"Ok…well, that explains what you are but that still doesn't tell me why you're here or how to get rid of you."
"Get rid of me? Ha-ha…silly humans, all of you. Always so naïve. Do you not remember what I said? No one can see, hear, or sense my at all in this form."
"I did here that part…asinum dolor! (Smart ass!) But if that's the case then how can I interact with you!?" Lisa shouted rather loudly, feeling a sense of panic build up in her gut other the fact that she could be the only on in Death Vegas dealing with a Kishin doppelgänger.
"Easy…I am allowing you to see me."
"…?...!...?!...?!...WHAT?!"
"B-but, why? You're the mother-fucking Kishin? W-what the hell could you want from me? I've already told you! I-I'm not anything special!"
"Oh, but you are. I'm never before meet a being, human or otherwise that could resist the Madness as easily as you do. Your strength…it is unlike any other power I've ever seen before in this world. You make me nervous… I don't like being nervous. That is why I am here…human. Your own power."
"W-what, are you g-going to do t-to me?" Lisa stammered as she backed away until she was against the wall.
The red-headed weapon had no idea how this could have happened. She had come to Death Vegas to help stop the spreading of Madness throughout the whole world. Not to have the source of all Insanity himself appear before her claiming that she possessed some sort of mystical power that could possibly overcome his own Madness. What was he going to do? What could she do to stop him? Nothing…he wasn't in a physical form, she couldn't attack him and she couldn't tell anyone about him because she was the only one who could see, hear, or sense him. He had her trapped like a rat, cornered by a python from hell…she was stuck.
"Do not worry yourself to much; I won't kill you…yet. First I shall learn the secrets to the strange powers you wield. And then, once I have figured out your little tricks… I can end you …properly."
Lisa was on the verge of hyperventilating by this point. She had just been told by the Kishin himself that she had a time limit on her life span from this moment on. Her head was pounding and her ears felt like they were going to pop. She could do nothing but stare at the red eyed demon before her. She was going to die… as soon as he learned her secrets…she was finished.
"I believe that you human require a certain amount of time to 'sleep' in order to function properly. For now I will leave you to your slumber…but remember… I will always be near-by." Asura told her darkly, the smirk on his face rivaling that of the devil himself.
In the blink of an eye the Kishin was gone, no trace that he had been there at all. Even the window was once again closed and even locked this time around. Lisa's vision grew hazy as the weight of the reality of the situation crashed upon her. She would die, she didn't know when… but she would die. With her last pounce of strength Lisa hauled herself to her bed, flopping down and hiding her face in the black fabric of the pillows. She was so tired, she wanted nothing more than to curl into a ball and sleep forever. But after everything that had just happened there was no way in hell that she could…fall asleep…anytime…soon.
And Lisa was out before she even finished that thought.
End of Flashback
Lisa's POV
Yeah…that. Damn…Death help me (for real this time.) That 'conversation' was four days ago, the good news? Apparently the Kishin hasn't figured out how I can so easily evade the Madness (since I'm not dead as of yet). The bad news? Aside from the fact I have a Kishin doppelgänger watching every flipping move I make. Oh wait, that is the bloody bad news! Filii canis! (Son of a Bitch!) *Sigh…*
Ok… so, of all the worse scenario's my overactive and slightly demented imagination could come up with this wasn't really that bad…comparatively. Of course, I can only speak for myself in that regard. I'm sure most other people would be scared shitless…but after my chat with the Kishin four days ago I was pretty calm about the whole situation. I had already freaked the fuck out about it and fell unconscious because of it. Aside from that though I had been pretty chill. Expect for when I woke up twelve hours after I blanked out.
I had woke up with a headache from hell and had no idea what had happened. Slowly I started to remember everything and I sat straight up, snapped my head around in all directions so hard that I think I gave myself whip-lash. I scanned every inch of my room, searching for the red eyed demon that was out to end my existence. I had seen nothing and finally I relaxed and sank back into the sheets as I let out a breath I hadn't realized I was holding.
At first I was trying to rationalize everything. I tried to tell myself that I had imagined the whole thing or that the released Madness was screwing with my head worse than I thought it had been. I had almost convinced myself that there was nothing to worry about…almost.
"So… the Human has finally awoken?" A voice to my right spoke suddenly, I recognized that voice…The Kishin.
I had turned my head…really slowly. Just like they do in those cheesy horror movies when a person doesn't want to turn and look to see if the monster it chasing then or not. There, right next to my door, was the fucking Kishin. He had been leaning against the wall with his arms cross over his thin chest, smirking like he was watching something very amusing unfold right before his eyes (me probably). That smirk quickly disappeared however as I had summoned my weapons and hurled one of my brass-knuckles straight at the smirking bastard. He just managed to duck in time before the blade slammed right into his forehead. With a loud, dull thud the blade was embedded into the dark colored wall instead.
Normal POV
Lisa smirked to herself slightly as she recalled the look of shock on the Kishin's face and the way he had glanced between her and the blade sticking out of the wall. The red-head glanced up for a moment to look at the Kishin who was once again standing with his arms crossed and back against the wall glaring at her fit-to-kill. She quickly averted her gaze back to the bowl of Apple Jacks ™ before her on the kitchen table. It was early morning, really early... like, before six o'clock early. For three days (going on four) Lisa Ackerman had been followed around by a doppelgänger of the Kishin.
The first day she had had about twenty minor heart attacks (caused by the Kishin constantly appearing, disappearing, and reappearing again somewhere else). The second day she had blown her vocal chords from yelling at him so much for acting like a "creepy stalking bastardus (bastard)". And on the third day the two had spent almost all their time glaring at each other after the Kishin had appeared in her bathroom just when she was getting ready to strip naked and take a shower. The Kishin hadn't meant to be a creepier but being over 800 hundred years old and not having been out in the world for so long he didn't really have any concept of privacy. Lisa quickly rectified that and warned him that if he followed her into the bathroom every again she would "remove his balls slowly with a rusty spoon" before slamming the bathroom door in his face.
Asura on the other hand couldn't figure out whether he wanted to be pissed off or terrified (maybe in this case it was a bit of both). At first the girl had been frightened of he (just what he had wanted). But now she was walking around her house like all was right with the world and flat out ignoring his existence most of the time (not at all what he had expected or wanted). And to make matters worse he still had no idea how she could resist the pull of the Madness. In his mind it was impossible and also quite disturbing. He glared at her silently as she stuffed another spoonful of those 'Jake Apples' or whatever she had called them into her mouth. She glanced up at him for a second but quickly looked away again. Gods… she was irritating beyond belief.
"Quite staring…Kishin." Lisa snapped quietly.
"I shall do as I please…Human." Asura retorted blankly.
"I have a damn name…and it isn't 'human'."
"I do not care if you have a name nor do I care what it is…"
"Never mind…culus (asshole)." Lisa told him, yawning loudly and stretching her arms out behind her head.
Lisa was too tired to try and argue with an insane copy-cat. Ever since the Kishin doppelgänger had started following her around she had been having freaky dreams. Well…nightmare was a more accurate term. That was why she was awake before six o'clock in the morning (since no respectable teenager would every get up so early). Lisa was having about three or four nightmares a night at this point and finally she had just given up on staying asleep and had decided to get up and get ready to go do…something. What that something was she didn't really know yet but she would figure it out. Besides…she needed to get out of her apartment really bad, ever since the Kishin had started following her she hadn't dared try to leave the four walls of her apartment. She was still a bit unsure about the idea but she had decided that she had nothing to lose at this point. And with a little luck a walk around Death Vegas would help her forget about the dreams that had been plaguing her sleep.
The images of the dream flashed in her mind's eye once more, like flashes of photographs or old movie reels.
Lisa's Dream
(A: N/ I wrote her dream in sort of a broken, choppy manner. I know that that's sort of annoying to try and read but it isn't that bad. Since you forget most of the details of a dream about ten minutes after you wake up it's almost a crime to write a dream in perfect detail anyways.)
Walking…barefooted, the rocks were scraping the bottom of her feet…cold, a harsh wind, winter she remembered it had been… walking without a destination…why was she walking? She needed to go somewhere... she didn't know where, but she could feel she needed to be there. Walking, walking, oh…a clearing, oh! That clearing. A noise…she looks up, across the clearing.
There's a tree in the center of this clearing, it's weird…trees don't just grow by themselves in the middle of a clearing. This one did, but it was dead now. The branches held no fruit or leaves, limbs bent and twisted. An old tree, a dead tree… a hanging tree. The noise again, rustling. She stares at the tree, only ten feet away. A figure stood next to the tree, under the largest dead limb. A woman, brown hair, dull amber eyes. Eyes that looked, but saw nothing. The woman stood on top of the wooden step ladder. A rope, thick, heavy, looped around her neck.
The woman jumped…
The rope went taunt, the body at the end swinging back and forth, hands and feet twitching and thrashing. Sounds…gasping for breath, whimpers…sounds of a dying person. Lisa runs…towards the choking woman, to safe her, to stop this, she runs and runs. She gets nowhere…in fact, she gets further away. She screams at the woman to stop, it's too late…far too late. The hanging woman stops moving, the rope forcing all the air out of her body. Lisa screams, cries, shouts…sounds of fear, confusion, sorrow. Everything spins…down, down, down…darkness.
Darkness fades…Lisa's inside now. Not her apartment, her childhood home…she's still dreaming. She knows…she fucking knows what's going to happen next. She doesn't want to see it, she hates it, it scares her, nothing scares her…but this does. Her bare feet carry her down the long hall. She tries to run away, she can't…the dream never changes, she should be used to this. That doesn't make it any easier… it makes it worse. She pushes open a door, the wood is dark red and heavy. She creeps in, silently, without a word. In the room is a desk, chair, computer, files all over the floor, the blue carpet barely visible. A man with red hair sits in the chair, bent forward, head in his hands. She calls to him; he doesn't even look at her, like he didn't hear her at all. Silence…long silence… unnerving silence. She calls again and again. Nothing…
Movement… the man shifts a bit, leaning back in his chair. His hand comes up…he's holding something. What is that? Lisa doesn't know…she was far too young at the time. It shone in the dim light for a moment. It happened then. His hand came up, the shiny object pressed against the side of his head. He doesn't look at her, he can't…he wouldn't be able to do this if he did. Lisa speaks one more time…
"Daddy?"
'BANG!'
The shiny object explodes, a flash…blinding, a thud as the shiny object hits the floor. The man slumps down into the chair, arms and legs go limp. A splatter…red, red, red, more red, red…everywhere. On the computer screen, the floor, the chair, the man's clothes, the white wall. Red looks so good on white, don't you know? The red is full of chunks… what is this?! Disgusting greyish pinky-white chunks, covered in the sticky red. Falling, falling, falling…darkness…once again.
End of Dream
"Human!" The Kishin shouts, breaking Lisa out of her horror fest thoughts.
"Huh?!" Lisa stammered, nearly jumping out of her chair.
"What are you doing?"
"Uh…thinking?" Lisa answered, although it sounded more like a question.
"You looked as though you were… 'spacing out'."
"Oh…my bad."
"If you would, refrain from doing that…it makes me nervous."
'How the hell can me spacing out make you nervous?' Lisa thought but decided not to even try and ask that question.
"It's your fault anyways… your madness is screwing up my sleep patterns. I space out when I'm sleepy."
"My madness can't affect you…remember?!" Asura snapped at the red-head.
"HaHaHa! Yeah-fucking- right…come on. I know you know better than that. Everyone in this world's got a bit of crazy in them. No one is exempt from that."
"Oh…and who said that?"
"Robin Williams-"You're only given a little speck of Madness. You mustn't lose it."
(A: N/ Robin Williams is an American actor that you can look up if you like, and yes…he did in fact say that and I do not own that quote.)
"Robin Williams?" Asura questioned, totally confused as to what the hell the weapon girl was talking about.
"Mrs. Doubtfire? Mork and Mindy? Dead Poets Society?"
(A: N/ Also don't own any of those either.)
"…?"
"Never mind…just, never mind." Lisa said with exasperation, shaking her head at the culturally under-developed Kishin.
Standing Lisa walked to the sink and placed her empty bowl in the luck-warm water, she'd wash it later. Right now she needed to go for a walk, exercise her body and her mind.
"I'm going for a walk; if you follow me you better stay out of sight, keep quiet, and leave me alone." The red-head warned before she trekked back to her room to get ready to leave.
00000
Twenty minutes later Lisa had left her apartment, drawstring bag slung over her shoulders and a far off look in her eyes. She wasn't really going to any specific place so she just wondered down any random street she decided she liked. She picked the streets by name most of the time (the one she was on at the moment begin called Bloody Pond Road). She tried to enjoy the gothic architecture of the city but that was a bit hard to do when you have the Kishin following you around. At least he was being quiet…for now. Lisa sighed; the guy was so freaking weird. I mean, he is the embodiment of all Madness but does that mean that he has to be a total creep in the process?
'Of course it does.' A voice in the back of Lisa's mind drawled.
Lisa huffed at the voice, yes the Kishin was weird and creepy but why did it have to be directed at her?Oh right, she had some sort of 'wondrous power' or some shit. Whatever, just… whatever. Lisa snuck a glance at the Insanity god every once and awhile. He walked a few feet behind her and was constantly twitching and snapping his head in all directions, looking for a threat that wasn't there. At least Lisa thought he was looking, since she wasn't sure if he could see anything or not with those bandages wrapped around his face. After the Kishin had first revealed his face to her he had kept his face hidden (for want ever reason Lisa had not a clue).
Lisa smirked a bit at his nervousness. It was ridiculous in her opinion, if she was that afraid of everything like he was then she would have killed herself with her own brass knuckles by now. Lisa was too much of a dreamer and adrenaline junky to be afraid of everything (not that she was completely unafraid of course). She just wasn't that fearful. You can't live life if all you're doing is shaking in the corner after all.
Pride by Soil blared into Lisa's ears through her headphones as she turned a corner onto Lunar Lane. She could feel the Kishin glaring at her from behind those bandages, no doubt pissed at her for 'forcing' him to follow her out into the scary world that was Death Vegas. She shivered as a gust of wind blew through the tight twists and turns of the building around her. The desert was hot as hell during the day but a six in the morning with the wind blowing it was still quite chilly. The red-head yanked at the hood of her thin black jacket. She was glad she had chosen to wear long jeans instead of capris (even if her knees were still cold because the fabric there had been ripped out of this particular pair of jeans).
Lisa didn't know how long she had been walking but she was enjoying herself quite a bit (much to Asura's annoyance). The Kishin watched the girl like a hawk while still trying to look out for any attacks that could come out of nowhere. He hated this city, he hated the people in the city, he hated all those brats at Shibusen, he hated Shinigami, and most of all he hated this girl! In four days he had learned nothing about her powers of avoiding the effects of Madness. It was scaring the shit out of him. He wanted nothing more to snap her neck right at that moment. Look at her! She was walking around this city mindlessly without a care in the world! Kill Her! Now! No one can see…No one will know…do it! No! Not yet! He had to wait, he had to be patient. He had to…
She had stopped…she had stopped dead in her tracks. She turned slowly, deadly slow. She faced the Kishin and fixed him with a very pointed look. Similar to the way he had looked at her when he had first appeared to her four days ago. She needed to stop it, that look was freaking him out. She didn't stop staring at him, her eyes narrowed but she continued to stare. She was silent, he was silent… She exhaled sharply through her nose before speaking.
"If you're going to contemplate killing me…please, don't flare your wavelength like that. Else I'll know every time you're gonna try it." Lisa told him, a slight smirk on her lips as she turned and kept walking.
See! There she went again! How could she do that!? It was as though she knew what he was thinking. It was unnerving, terrifying. Asura hated her. So very much...
Lisa's POV
I'm such a bitch… it's awful I know but I can't help it. Not that I'm like this to everyone I'm around. But when you're dealing with… him I think you can understand my point. I hooked a left on Cemetery Drive and was greeted by a very odd scene. The street (like most at this time of morning) was empty aside from a lone man who was on his knees in front of a small coffee shop… Bob's Rumba Coffee. Wait…I know that guy! Joe!
Normal POV
"NO! This can't be…Uncle Bob can't be closed! I need my Rumba coffee!" Joe Buttataki of the Shibusen 'Internal Affairs' shouted in misery.
"Well well… Look at what the desert winds blew in."
"Huh?! Lisa! Is that you!?" Joe questioned as he practically jumped to his feet.
"Last time I checked. It's good to see you again J.B… how've you be-!?" Lisa squawked as the bulky man ran over and wrapped his arms around her.
"Oh Lisa! It's been so long since I last talked to you! I'm so glad to see you!" J.B shouted as he squeezed the smaller woman in his arms.
"Ack! Joe…c-can't… breathe…"
"Oh! Sorry!" The internal affairs officer released the red-head in an instant.
"Geez J.B… don't do that. You may be a pencil pusher but you're still strong as an ox.
"Hey now! I take a bit of offense to that."
"Yeah well…you know what they say. 'The truth hurts a little bit sometimes'."
"Right… and it hurts a whole lot more when you say it."
"Well, you know me." Lisa smirked deviously.
Lisa had known Joe for over three years and the two were very close. They often compared their favorite coffees. They hadn't seen each other in a while though (with Joe being stationed in Oceania and Lisa in North America). Lisa wasn't surprised to see him in Death Vegas; she knew that Lord Death would be calling in as much help as he could get to fight the Madness.
"What are you doing in Death City anyways?"
"You're joking right? Come on…whenever something goes wrong I'm the first one Lord Death calls in."
"Your humor is truly boundless Lisa."
"Thanks…although, this mess we're in must be really bad if 'internal affairs' was called in."
"Well, it is the Kishin that we're dealing with. You can't expect anything less."
"I'm beginning to see that." Lisa said as she flicked her gaze to the aforementioned Kishin who was standing a short distance away, apparently unseen by Joe.
"What are you doing wandering the streets in the middle of the night anyways?"
"Technically it's early morning J.B."
"Right…"
"I'm wandering the streets 'cause I can't sleep. And if I can't sleep I may as well get up and do something productive with myself."
"They have medicine for that sort of thing you know."
"I, will not… take pills for something so stupid. And I haven't had any trouble sleeping til I came to Death Vegas." Lisa grumbled slightly, yawning towards the end of her sentence as though to show just how tired she was from lack of sleep.
"You haven't been able to sleep since coming to Death City?" Joe asked in concern.
"Don't freak out or anything. It's nothing serious. I need some time to settle in and adjust is all." Lisa told him, realizing her error and quickly redirecting the subject.
No way in hell she was going to try and explain that the reason she couldn't sleep was because of some nightmares that she had been having on and off since she was a little girl. Or that she was 99.8% certain that the Kishin doppelgänger she had following her was the cause of these nightmares returning after almost four years. No way at all. Just like she wasn't going to tell Shinigami-Sama about it either…unless she absolutely had to.
"Funny, I never pegged you as someone who had problems 'adjusting' as you put."
"If you're not going to be nice then zip it." Lisa retorted dryly.
"No promises…"
"Right…well, I'm sure that Lord Death is wondering where the hell you are so I'll let you get on with your 'internal affairs' business or, whatever else it is you're doing."
"Already trying to get rid of me Lisa?"
"I am your friend J.B. And as your friend it's my duty to make sure you get your work done in a timely fashion." Lisa told him, pushing him toward the academy at the top of the hill where Lord Death was surly awaiting his arrival.
"But Lisa, you don't understand! Without any of Uncle Bob's Rumba coffee I'll never be able to get anything done!" Joe cried out in protest.
"You've got to be kidding me?!"
"You know that I don't joke around about my coffee Lisa."
"Right… well, I can't do anything about your rumba coffee." The red head told him.
"I know…"
"Hey, don't be like that. I'll tell you what… as soon as Uncle Bob's opens again I'll treat you to a cup of coffee. How does that sound?"
"Really?! You'd really do that!?"
"Of course, you know how much I love coffee too."
"Deathbucks is not coffee."
"Oh come on…I don't knock you for your tastes in coffee so don't mock mine." Lisa grumbled slightly.
"Ha-ha…Alright, but I'll hold you to that offer." Joe grinned as he hugged the weapon woman once more.
"Sure, sure…see you later then."
Lisa grinned and shook her head as she headed down the street. Joe shook his head was well, it was good to see Lisa again but unfortunaly the internal affairs officer had important business to attend to for Lord Death, oh how he wished he has his coffee. Turning back to stare at Uncle Bob's coffee shop and grumbling the whole time Joe decided he would just have to wait for his coffee and go ahead and get started on the work Lord Death had lined up for him. As the bearded man turned to walk away a wave of energy swept past him. Like a harsh wind, a chill ran down Joe's spine as he zeroed in on the energy. Madness… what? No! Impossible, but his soul perception was never wrong. As soon as the Madness appeared it was gone again, as though it had never been there at all.
"Hey Joe! You alright?"
J.B jumped slightly as Lisa shouted his name. He turned to look at her, she had stopped walked and turned to look back at him with an air of concern and a furrow in her brow.
"Did you sense that Lisa?"
"Sense what?"
"That wavelength just now, I can't be a hundred percent sure but…well; it felt like a Madness wavelength."
"Madness? I didn't sense anything."
"I was sure that I picked up a very concentrated amount of it."
"Well, I know that your soul perception is the best in the universe but I didn't sense any Madness at all Joe."
"The 'best in the universe' might be pushing it Lisa."
"Oh come on, your soul perception is awesome."
"But you didn't sense any Madness?"
"It makes since that you would have and not me."
"I suppose so, but whatever it was just disappeared."
"Well, nothing to worry about then."
"What? You're not concerned about it at all?" Joe questioned the red head she just shrugged her shoulders.
"Well, if the wavelength disappeared that means that whatever was causing it is gone away. And I certainly can't do anything about it, so I'm not going to worry about it."
"Ha, you got the most carefree attitude I've ever seen Lisa."
"I'll take that as a complement, but if you're sure about it then you should go let Shinigami know about it."
"Yeah, that's the best I can do about it now."
"Right-o then, later J.B!"
When Joe returned his gaze to where Lisa had been standing not a moment earlier he found that she was nowhere to be seen. She must have let already, be why in such a hurry? Brushing her strange behavior off Joe headed away in the opposite direction; he had work to do after all. And then he would let Lord Death know about the wavelength he had sensed, they couldn't have the Kishin returning to the city anytime soon.
00000
"Stultus stupri! (Fucking idiot!) Lisa cursed at the Kishin only she could see. She thanked Lord Death that no one else was around to hear her screaming at someone who wasn't there.
"What's gotten into you human?"
"Arg! You fool! J.B almost found out about you! That's what's gotten into me!"
"I hate repeating myself mortal; no one can sense me in this city."
"Bull! The wavelength J.B sensed was Madness, highly concentrated Madness. He has the best soul perception of anyone I know! He can sense a witch even when their using soul protect!"
"Hmm…I see, perhaps I underestimated the skill of Shinigami's followers."
"Nooo…you think?"
"Quiet! All you do is talk!"
"Oh? Am I getting on your nerves? Good! 'Cause you're really getting on mine!"
The Kishin doppelgänger and the red headed weapon glared at each other for a few moments but Lisa quickly got fed up with the whole thing and stormed off down the street. Lisa was furious, she knew that the Madness Joe and sensed must have come from the doppelgänger following her around. She had had to lie to Joe about not being able to sense it and she hated having to lie to a friend. But this was her problem not his or anyone else's. The Kishin smirked slightly, pissing her off was quite amusing; but he mentally scolded himself for feeling accomplished at pissing the weapon woman off. That wasn't his goal here, he had to figure out what sort of power she held that could resist the Madness.
"And just where do you think you are going human?" Asura demanded as he continued to follow the steaming red head.
"The meister and weapon academy…"
"What? Why the hell would you want to go there?"
"I'm old enough to go where I please Kishin, now shut up or I well rat you out to Lord Death."
"Why haven't you done that already?" He questioned before he could stop himself.
Lisa stopped walking for a moment before turning her mix matched eyes to the Kishin. "Shinigami-Sama has enough to deal with since you woke up. Madness is running wild all over the world. I'm not going to burden him with my problems as well."
"…How noble of you…"
"Pedicabo! (Fuck you!)"
"Watch your mouth!"
"HaHaHa…You're not my father, you can't tell me what to do Kishin. Now, I'm going to the academy, see just what it is that Lord Death has to work with in those weapons and meisters. Do…not…follow…me. " Lisa shot back with a grin as she turned and started to trek up to the DWMA.
Asura was seeing red at that point; he was going to kill that woman! But no, no. There was no way he could kill her without knowing her secret against the Madness. He wouldn't make any mistakes when dealing with her. She wasn't nearly as strong as Lord Death himself, but like him she wasn't affected at all be the Madness. He couldn't risk just trying to end her life; she had already proven that his illusions wouldn't work against her. Patience…he had to be patient.
"Thought I told you not to follow me?" Lisa snapped as the Kishin glared at her through bloody read eyes.
"Ugh, fine. I don't give a flip. Just be quiet and leave me alone."
Asura sighed to himself as he followed behind the brass-knuckle user… this had all better pay off in the end.
Chapter End
Finally! Finished with another chapter!
I'm so so sorry, it's been forever since I last posted anything. I would have put something up sooner but I've be so swamped. Anyways, I hope that you'll all forgive me for taking so long and enjoy this chapter. Review and Enjoy!
Peace Out!
Virgo-24
